Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Best Thing About Bloggin'...

Have you ever ran a Half-Marathon, Marathon, or even just a long training run, and then a co-worker asks how your weekend went?  You're sore & exhausted, but bubbling with excitement, and you tell them you just completed your first 13.1 mile race!  Expecting appropriate acknowledgement for such a champion, they surprisingly respond, "That's cool, are those budget numbers ready?"  

Huh?  Total buzz-kill!  Doesn't this person realize that you just accomplished something that only .000001% of the population will ever do?  Don't they understand how much work it took?  I mean, you chicked several dudes on Saturday!  Don't they know they're in the presence of athletic greatness?   If your friends and co-workers are like mine ... probably not.

That's why I love blogging!  A few short months ago I began typing out words of encouragement and sharing successes and struggles in my daily training.  I started with two followers.  My daughter and my wife ... although it took my wife a little while to join????  But now I'm surrounded by a wonderful support community that really gets what this is all about!

Sure, we all draw strength & motivation from the wonderful words of encouragement we pass from one to another.  And we all laugh at "fake" interviews Michael and I conduct (well, I laughed at mine anyway - hers was based a little too much in reality!!!)  But more than that, I love the fact that whether fast or slow, old or young, competitive or just out for a fun run ...
We all speak the same language! 

It's not just that we use the same vocabulary like ITBand, Yasso 800, VO2max, and Fartlek.  But rather when someone details a 20 mile training run ... we know first hand that's a long friggin' way!  And if another just misses their goal because they hit the wall ... we feel their disappointment because we've been there!  And if yet another celebrates a PR, we share in their excitement because we get just exactly how much hard work & dedictation it demanded!

So I guess this is my way of saying thanks!  Thanks for all the awesome support I've received since I started blogging!  Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions ... I've benefited from many of them!  And thanks for sharing in this journey that as athletes we're all on ... it's made a huge impact on my quest for 50 after 40!
... be great today!

36 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your journey! I have totally loved reading your blog and Michaels.

    Keep up the great success and let's go rock Boston! Yes, you are running it for me. No pressure! :)

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  2. You've nailed it here - this is EXACTLY why I blog.

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  3. Total agreement here! It's nice to be a part of such a great community!

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  4. Love it! And I agree wholeheartedly.

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  5. Great post. I was just thinking about this yesterday when life and blogging gets hard

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  6. I was just thinking about what you wrote the other day.

    I came in to work last year after having run my first marathon and my boss asked me what I did and I told him and he never looked up, he said "that's nice" while looking at his computer screen. I don't share anything with him anymore BUT I work for a set of partners and one of them ran Boston 5 years ago and he keeps up with my training. I think he told my other boss that I kick ass because every once in awhile now he'll ask what I've got planned on my schedule.

    So, yes, I love that I have people that throw in their two cents and help me when I'm down or up. I don't have to explain myself. It's almost like AA :)....it's more like RA!

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  7. You are totally right. We all speak the same language, even though our abilities are different. Thanks for your awesome encouragement! You are wonderful!

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  8. You hit the nail on the head, this is exactly why we blog, 99% people dont understand us, we do understand each other, the lifesstlye, the balance, the ups and downs, the acheivements, the nerves of race day. Great post

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  9. So very true! My work conversations are usually "oh you ran a marathon this weekend? How far is that? I can't run 10 feet." Definitely no talk of tempo runs or swim intervals. LOL.

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  10. So true. While I don't have a job outside my home, I do find that when I tell people about my training, they usually remark that I'm crazy or something (and I don't even consider myself very hardcore). I love the blogging community for the support and inspiration. Thanks!

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  11. Great and very true words. When I started my blog I wondered how the blogging community would respond to someone writing about running in South Africa. It’s been amazing because, as you say, we all speak the same language. Wonderful indeed!

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  12. Right on! Most people don't get it at all. I either find that people don't realize just how hard something, say...like a marathon...is - or they write you off as ridiculous for doing these things over and over.
    I love the fitness blogging community because of everything you said!

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  13. I just wrote something simialar on my blog yesterday. Runners share a special bond and we get each other.

    I am new to blogging, I agree that the support is incredible no matter what fitness level or how fast we are,

    Thanks you, Great Post!

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  14. So true! I have 5 or 6 teachers in my school that have jumped on the running bandwagon, but for the rest it's not big deal or that think I'm insane for doing it.

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  15. I've really enjoyed finding your blog!! I'll be the person saying "I RAN 13.1 FOR THE FIRST TIME" in a week and a half and you're right, it's nice to know that if no one else can appreciate it, bloggers can!

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  16. love this! and it really is so true. though, i'm lucky enough to work with a TON of pretty amazing runners, too.

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  17. makes sense! i can't wait to become a "real" runner for that reason! : ) just found your blog- great posts.

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  18. Well said Jim! I love the running community, but have found so much more support and connection through blogging! Glad I speak the language!

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  19. You hit the nail on the head! As a new blogger i'm loving the encouragment and ability to share all the running/fitness and food details that would bore most folks around the office ;)

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  20. Great post! Julie's comment above is dead on! Most of my friends and coworkers understand how hard it is to run a long distance, because I basically force my runs down their throats since its one of the main things I talk about, haha But I try to pick my times to talk about running, because every audience won't be as receptive as others. We all speak the language of running!

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  21. And one of the funniest comments I've ever gotten from someone when I told them I was going to do a marathon was
    "26 miles? You should be driving when you're traveling that far!" haha

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  22. I hear ya brotha... I've all but given up talking running with non-running folk. It's such a let down when they're not excited for you. Bloggin has so not been what I expected it to be. So amazing to have 'met' so many hilarious people that 'get it'!

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  23. I love this post! I can honestly say blogging has changed my life for the better. I have constant support, I learn more about running, and I feel inspired. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Oh, Daddy. You are simply great. =)

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  25. Thank YOU!! It is awesome that we all have each other. I started my blog because I needed an outlet too. Every time I find another great running blog, it's like making a new friend!

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  26. People in my life don't quite get my passion for running but I know I can write things on my blog about running and someone will know where I'm coming from. Well said!

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  27. EXACTLY! It's lonely in MS, the fattest state in the country. I find it hard to find "like-minded" individuals who want to train hard, and I don't like to be around the buffet loving, fried catfish eating crowd (I'm too weak for that - lol) That's why I love the blog world.

    In addition to that, while I've been MIA, it hasn't been my supposed "real friends" that have noticed, it's been my blog friends and my running friends on fb (that I haven't officially met yet) that have sent notes asking what's up. Thanks!

    Love sharing the passion with other runners.

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  28. I completely agree with you. I know my friends don't get why I blog. But Bloggyland is filled with people who want to talk about running as much as I do. When I had PF and couldn't run. They totally got it. My co workers don't get it although most of my family does!

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  29. I have to say thanks to you!! You've offered such insightful and helpful comments, Thank You :) And I loved both your interviews I just didn't get a chance to comment on the (yet).

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  30. I could not agree more. all my friends think I am crazy. and same for my family, well except Bill and the kids, but all the others. they will say things like it is crazy to drive 20 miles just to go run 6.2 miles. or 40+ miles to run 13.1 miles. or that I am too old for this (started at 41 and I am now 42). It sucks at times. I found support with my blog from people I have never met! I had a 5 min PR on my second 10k and I was so happy. We had to attend a kids bday party after the race and I told the people there about my race and 1 guy said "I don't get why you are so happy about 5 minutes!" grrr

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  31. I agree completely. Today, my co-worker said, "Well, how many of these marathons have you done? Me - none yet, first is in May. I thought you did one a few weeks ago. Me - no that was a 5k....I also did a half marathon too. Her: Oh, wow, they are all the same to me.

    Haha! Non-runners just do not get it.

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  32. Yup, it's awesome that there are people out there who 'get' us. ::grins::

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  33. I love the first paragraph, so funny! So True! Happened to me yesterday when someone asked what i was doing this weekend, when I said I am running a half marathon the response was just the same if I said "nothing"!!!

    First time visitor, love the bloggity blog!!

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  34. I have just recently found this runner blogging community and have been poking around all the blogs and thinking I've just found heaven. So I started my own for the exact reasons you mentioned. That and I think most of the people around me are very tired of hearing me talk about running.

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